


The Escape

by Xenjn



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF!Pearl, BAMF!Sapphire, Bamf all of them really, Captivity, F/F, Femslash, Fighting, Future Canon Speculation, Homeworld - Freeform, Multichapter, Universe Alteration, Violence, Will have a happy ending!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 17:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5384915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenjn/pseuds/Xenjn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But he's not on Earth anymore, He's on <i>Homeworld</i> and the gems who'd thrown him into this cell-<i>his prison cell</i>- only two minutes ago said they were going to inform <i>Yellow Diamond</i> that Rose Quartz had arrived and-</p><p>What about the others?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Escape

_This_ cage has iron bars.

Or something. They're a kind of metal, he's not sure, he just knows that he won't be able to push his hands against a beam of light and be free again, not this time. Steven tries to swallow back his whimper of dread, his hiss of pain as he presses his palm against the bleeding scrape on his arm, wincing when it comes back red and brown, darkened with bits of dirt that are the only traces of Earth he has left.

His legs begin to shake beneath him, breath catching and with his heart pounding like this he can almost taste his fear in the back of his throat, metallic and tingling like the time when he was eight and licked one of dad's live amps and _he's not on Earth anymore._ He's on _Homeworld_ and the gems who'd thrown him into this cell-his _prison cell-_ only two minutes ago said they were going to inform _Yellow Diamond_ that Rose Quartz had arrived and, and.

What about the others?

He doesn't register his back hitting the wall, doesn't feel himself sliding down until he's sitting, fingers absently grasping at his marred shirt, over his belly in the way he always does when he needs comfort and, her name doesn't scare him. Not much. He isn't sure how but he _knows_ Yellow Diamond won't hurt him.

At least, not right away.

But the others...?

The dread climbs up his throat again, imagines them shattered and feels tears brimming hot in his eyes, gripping tighter at his belly as he tries to force in deep breaths, tries to stay calm because he _has_ to save them, has to find them and they have to get home. He remembers his training with Connie, they were just beginning to be taught so much more than sword techniques, about fighting in general, about defense and strategy and Pearl had always said, she always said the most important thing to do when faced with an unknown situation is to observe. Collect data.

Right.

Okay. Yeah. Collect data. He can do that.

Steven forces a shaking breath, stands on shaking legs with his shaking limbs because it's _so cold_ here and looks around his cell. He has to escape. Just thinking of Pearl, the pride in her eyes whenever she'd find him focusing and really working at what she was teaching makes his chest clench. A flash of memory comes, of the few Homeworld Pearls he's already seen on his way to his cell and he's pushing the image aside before he can think on them, on their lifeless eyes and- no. No no gotta focus. Data. Collecting.

Okay. Okay the walls are made of...some kind of metal. He gently knocks against one, the small clang he receives in return confirms that. That's good. He isn't sure if it's hollow, the clang wasn't really telling of that, or maybe it was? That isn't something Pearl managed to teach him yet, and it's not like could just, punch through it or something. He sighs, bites his lip and looks out at the walls, four walls, all of them really bright, colored with designs of diamonds the same way the ground is, and no windows, no vents or anything like that cause why would gems need vents?

His stomach churns a little, bladder growing heavy and he tries not to groan, why would they need bathrooms, either? The only exit to the room seems to be the way he came in, the opening in front of him.

With a sharp breath and a few tentative steps closer, Steven eyes the guard in front of his prison, a big gem, with pale orange skin, holding one of those weird weapons that Jasper used against Garnet that first time on the beach almost a year ago in her hand, activated and ready to go. Maybe she doesn't know those don't work against him? Pearl also taught him to press any advantage he might have...

He swallows, his mouth dry, aware beneath everything that he hasn't had anything to eat and drink in almost a whole day and his breath tastes gross. Steven hesitates just barely before reaching out, wrapping his hands around the bars of his cell and the gem before him doesn't move, doesn't turn to face him.

That's...good, right? Biting his lip to keep quiet, he squeezes as hard as he can, but the bars are completely solid and they're too close together, even if he _could_ bend them he might not be able to squeeze through.

"Um..." He starts, voice a bit coarse from crying, from thirst. "Hey, um, I'm...really hungry."

Nothing.

Steven blinks up at the gem, steps a little closer with hands still on the bars. "Uh...Excuse me? Sorry to bother you...I think, um, I could really use something to eat, or drink."

Not even a twitch of the shoulders.

Does the gem Homeworld even have water? Or food? At least _one_ toilet? He can feel his desperation mounting, trying to lick his dry lips. " _Please,_ I'm _really_ thirsty-" The movement comes so fast he barely has time to jump back, a shout of surprise ripped from him when a ringing metallic echo sounds from the bars, which light up with yellow electric light as the weapon that had slammed against them activates, nearly blinding him, the gems skin glowing _gold_ with the light. " _Silence._ "

She turns away, and the second the weapon is removed from the bars the light fades and Steven is holding his belly again, trying to fight away tears, wondering if he even had enough water left in him to shed them.

At the sounding of footsteps coming down the hall his breath hitches and he's forgetting his fear of the guard while rushing up to the bars again, throat working and heart beginning to pound as he tries to look as best as he can through the metal, trying to see if the same gems who locked him in here were coming to take him to Yellow Diamond...

But the footsteps that come are too soft, solitary, and he blinks a few times as one of the Homeworld Pearls begins walking down the hallway, finds himself almost calling out to her, wanting to tell himself that its _his_ Pearl but...He stops himself, bites his lip and knows it isn't her, it can't be. She looks just like all the other ones here, not even her clothes those are all different, Peridot once told him that the Pearls dressed however their owner told them to but, something in the way she _moved, o_ r stood, or...something.

He noticed it about the other Pearls when he first saw them, like there was something about them that was _missing,_ in their eyes and the way they talk like they didn't _feel_ anything or...he doesn't know, can't put his finger on it, just knows that it makes him feel cold, to think that the Pearl he knows, so full of life and so smart and kind could have ever...That the Pearls here could all be like her if they were only allowed to be.

But thinking of her, how different she is from them only makes him more scared for her. Would they punish her like Peridot tried to? Treat her bad for being that way? He has to find her, has to save them somehow, has to try. Maybe if he can just get the guard to _talk_ to him... He takes a breath, squares his shoulders. "...So, what's your name?"

Those wide shoulders stiffen and she turns again, brows furrowed with lips twisted into a sneer, "I _said-"_

But her eyes suddenly go wide, and the sound that echoes throughout his cell is sharp, metallic and, somehow, someway, _familiar._ Steven's breath catches, the gem guard before him just barely managing to look down at the spear protruding from her chest before her body bursts, and the gem that had been in the very center of her chest clatters to the ground, now broken in two.

The Homeworld Pearl stands with both hands clasped around the spear, eyes narrowed and stance strong and Steven hadn't even realized he'd covered his mouth until he tries to speak and feels warm breath against his palms, pulls them away and rasps out a shocked. "Pearl!?!"

She rushes for him, falling to her knees before the bars and reaching through them, half shouting, half whispering his name with tears brimming in her eyes and even though she looks _so different,_ just like one of the Homeworld Pearls, the minute she hugs him as tight and as best as she can through the bars he knows without a doubt its her.

Steven finds tears falling down his cheeks as he hugs her back just as tightly, all at once feeling like he's a little kid, like he's five years old again and wanting to sob in her arms for hours like he did when he fell off of the stairs outside of the house and sprained his ankle, but the thought of Garnet and Amethyst has him pulling back reluctantly, hiccupping.

"P-Pearl! Are you okay?"

Pearl takes a slow, strong breath, wiping away her tears and nodding her head once. "I'm alright, I'm... _Oh_ , Steven your arm! A-Alright, we’ll deal with that later. First we need to get you out of here before anyone notices _she's_ missing." With a gesture to the gem shards Pearl stands, moving towards them and it occurs to him that Pearl just… _broke_ her. That’s…that’s the same as killing in gem culture, right? “I-Is she…?”

But Pearl doesn’t look at him, instead quickly bends down to bubble the shards before turning to the console beside his cell, unhesitatingly pressing both hands into the data stream or whatever that stuff is, he isn’t sure. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Steven, but we can’t waste any more time, we need to get you out of here.”

"What about the others?!" He all but shouts with barely concealed panic because he _knows_ Pearl, knows how she is about protecting him and what if she- "Garnet, and Amethyst! We can't just _leave_ them!" Pearl releases a shaking breath, her eyes mirroring the weird stream in her hands and a second later the bars open and she's pulling away, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the prison as the bars begin closing right behind him.

"We won't leave them behind, I promise! But we need a plan, and we can't make one from here." And he doesn't have the chance to complain as he's lifted into her arms, held tight against her hip like a kid before she summons another spear with her free hand and begins to run. He won't say it, but he's grateful she's carrying him, as his hands grip hard at unfamiliar fabric he realizes how heavy his arms feel, how much his stomach hurts and how dry his throat is. He tries to push it all aside, tries to tell himself that later, when this is all over he'll order a pizza, get a dozen doughnuts, a bag of chaaaaaps, and marathon Sailor Moon with the gems until he passes out.

First things first. "Where are we going?" Pearl bites her lip, eyes still narrowed, determination written on every unfamiliar line of her shapeshifted face. "...I...There's a place I remember, a secret place not too far from here...Oh, it's a long shot, it might not even _be_ there anymore but-"

They stop abruptly, Pearl pressing her back against a wall and Steven gripping her tight as they hear voices down one of the many hallways. "Oh no." Pearl whispers under her breath, glancing around left and right and Steven's gripping her tight, trying to stay calm, for both of them. “ _Pearl_ it's okay you can do this, what should we do next? Where should we go?"

She leans around the corner for a split second before coming back and Steven can't help but think how these walls are so unfamiliar, so bright and weird and he wonders if it looked like this back when she lived here with mom, or if she's just as lost as he is.

Pearl exhales a slow, shaking breath, leans in close and whispers. "Don't make a sound." He purses his lips, nods and they turn the corner, slowly, only a few feet in front of them two gems walk side by side, their backs facing them as they speak to each other in low voices, a conversation Steven cannot catch but he can see, not too far ahead of them, an archway that leads to what must be the outside, if Pearl's single-minded focus on it was any indication.

He doesn't breathe, doesn't wince, even though Pearl is holding him too tight in her one hand, her spear held in the other, pointed at the two gems and his throat is heavy, biting his dry lips, hoping they don't turn around and see them, hoping that Pearl won't have to hurt them. She walks on her tip toes towards the door, her steps completely silent, or at least covered by the quiet mummers of the two green gems talking in front of them, the black skirt of one of them trailing along the floor as they move and that’s the last he sees of them before Pearl ducks into the doorway and inhales sharply. "Alright. This way."

He nods once, heart still hammering, and smiles shakily. "That was awesome!" The smile he gets back is familiar, even on an unfamiliar face. "Thanks, Steven. We're almost there." But he has no idea where _there_ is, just lets Pearl carry him across what must be the grounds of the building he was held in, but he can barely tell the difference between outside and inside on this planet, if it weren't for the myriad of stars that twinkle above him, half obscured by the light of the city, he'd might still think he's inside.

"Please, _please_ still be here." Is Pearl's whisper as they come upon one of the walls of the huge building, and its only now he notices that the outside walls of where he was held look _different_ than the rest of the city, older.

Almost like _stone_ that's been...glossed over or something else weird was done to it, to make it appear metallic. It's really obvious up close like this, and he wonders if mom lived here once, in this building. What was he room like, if she did? Is it even still there?

Pearl allows her spear to fade as she presses her hand against the wall, running her palm over the surface in a wide arc. "Come on, come on." She mutters, and Steven is raising an eyebrow, curious enough that he forgets his rumbling stomach and his aching arm for a second, blinking when Pearl's eyes light up as a panel appears on the stone, the technology unlike anything he saw inside.

The keys light up briefly as she touches her fingers to them, a quiet, melodic tone sounding as she follows a sequence she seems to know by heart and, there's something _about_ that melody that has him shivering, has his throat tickling but he doesn't get to think on it because the stone is parting, just a little, just enough for them to squeeze in before the sound of stone grinding together comes, and the door shuts, surrounding them in perfect darkness.

Pearl doesn't give him the chance to get scared, her gem flickers light into the room, and she holds him tight against her, breathing in deep, slow. When she exhales, her shapeshifted form falls away, and she's back to her old self. "Alright. We're safe, for now. Let’s see if we can get some light in here..." She seems to be speaking more to herself than him, but he doesn't mind it, Pearl likes to do that when she's scared or nervous, it helps her relax. He'd offer to help but it's too dark, and she seems to know exactly where she's going, walking through the perfect blackness with nothing but the light of her gem like she's been here a million times.

...Maybe she has?

"Ah, here we are." Her hand presses atop what looks like a big crystal, which begins to glow the second she touches it, and it only takes a few seconds for the pale blue light to fill the room, not enough to call it bright but enough so that he can see. At least a little. The biggest thing in the room is a large table, longer than his kitchen counter, the type the reminds him of the ones in the meeting room of the hospital in "Under the Knife" where Jessica and Trish go to kiss when their shifts become too much to bare.

"Okay Steven, show me your arm. Are you alright? Does it hurt?" Pearl sets him down atop the huge table, and he looks out at the room, at the consoles and darkened screens against the wall that kind of remind him of that old gem ship they found when they were hunting down Peridot. He rolls up his short sleeve, offers his arm to her and shakes his head, not even watching as she draws the first aid kit from her gem.

"Only a little, I'm okay. ...What is this place?"

She sets the box on the table beside them, opens it and reaches for the alcohol wipes. Steven bites his lips and is very proud of himself for not flinching when begins cleaning the wound "I'm surprised they haven't found it, after all this time..." Her voice is wistful, nearly a sigh as she rubs cool, sticky ointment against the cut while he kicks his feet absently, watching her and lifting his arm so she can start bandaging it. "Your mother used to call this her escape. We would come here together all the time to-" Pearl's face suddenly flushes blue, and the pace that she wraps his arm starts growing frantic.

“...To! Plan! For the rebellion!! T-This is where we planned some of our...first strikes from within and...Held meetings with some of our earliest allies! T-There, all finished!"

She clears her throat, cheeks still blue as she reaches into her gem and Steven could cry when he sees a bottle of water appear, and a bag of chaaaaps. "I'm sorry it’s not much but-"

He wraps his arms around her, holds her as tight as he can and tries to convey as much love as he can with the hug, of course she had food and water, of course she's _Pearl._ She's Pearl and she's always so smart and prepared and even though she doesn't need it she has food and water for him and now he definitely won't starve to death on Homeworld and no wonder mom loved her so much.

He whispers a watery; "Thanks, Pearl." against her belly before pulling back and sniffling, smiling at the wide eyed, touched surprise in Pearl's expression before he begins tearing into the bag of chaaaaps and she watches him for just a second, before turning towards the consoles, trying to coax them to life.

He can barely taste them he eats so fast, chewing too quickly and not enough so large pieces get half stuck so he has to drown them with water on the way down his throat, his belly churns, growls, bladder complaining. "Mmfh, Whef's Amethfst and Garnet?"

Pearl stiffens, a slow sigh leaving her. "... _Ruby and Sapphire_ are...Sapphire is alright, at least she was, the last time I saw her. Ruby might..." She glances over her shoulder, and Steven feels himself stiffening at Pearl's attempt to mask her fear. "Ruby will need your help before this is over. As for Amethyst? I....I have no idea. She's...probably with Peridot. I'm hoping we can find her with these...if they still work."

Steven swallows down another mouthful, thinks of Ruby and his healing spit and how the last time he tried it on the warp pad it didn't work and, his hunger kind of goes away after that, but he knows he has to eat, he has to keep his strength up, feels the bag growing lighter and tries not to think about what would happen if his powers didn't work again. "What are they?"

"These are..." Pearl leans over the console, opening a panel and half of her torso seems to disappear into the opening, her voice a metallic echo from within the mechanism. "A sort of...surveillance system, your mother and I were able to set up. She had access to, well, anywhere she desired and as her Pearl I did as well, which gave us the unique opportunity to plant these across the grounds, if they're even still acti-Ah ha! Here it is!"

A second later the huge screen on the wall flickers to life, broadcasting a grainy, slightly broken but visible video of what looks like the outside grounds they had just run through, and the two guards who'd carried him to his cell holding weapons and looking really angry. "We can use these to find the others." Pearl says, forcing in another breath, trying her best to be strong.

He finishes his water and jumps down from the table, going up to the console to stand next to her and grin. "That's awesome! We just gotta find our friends, find a ship and get home! I know we can do it Pearl!" The smile she gives him is wry, at best, and the truth is he doesn't know if they can do it, if they can find their friends, if he can heal Ruby, find Amethyst, save Sapphire, if he'll ever see _Garnet_ again, but he's gonna try his best.

He grips at his shirt, feels the surface of his gem though the fabric, and remembers warm words full of love and hope, _faith._

_“Take care of them, Steven.”_

He nods, determined.

_I will._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr! http://xenwrites.tumblr.com/


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